Thursday, May 6, 2004
Thai PM seeks to mend ties in Muslim south
Reuters Baan Susoe, Thailand, May 6
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, seeking to soothe Muslim outrage a week after security forces killed 108 militants, began a southern tour on Thursday with a pledge to help their grieving families.
Under tight security, Thaksin visited the Muslim village of Baan Susoe which lost an entire team of 19 soccer players killed when they attacked a security checkpoint last week.
"Nobody wanted this to happen because we are all Thai. The incident took place from a misunderstanding and conflict among Thais," Thaksin, dressed in a bright silk shirt, told hundreds of villagers as heavily armed troops watched nearby.
"The government is trying to lessen the burden of the families of the dead," he told the crowd.
Earlier, Thaksin met relatives of the dead soccer players and promised scholarships for two children whose father was killed in the April 28 violence.
Odeh Luemating, 52, whose son was among those killed, sat quietly with other relatives as Thaksin spoke.
"I don't feel anything now because I have buried my son," Odeh told Reuters later. "I just want the government to look after my grandchildren."
The Bangkok government is facing growing criticism that troops used excessive force to stop the raiders who attacked security outposts in three southern provinces, the worst day of violence since the unrest in the region began in January.
Muslims were particularly outraged after soldiers stormed a mosque and killed 32 men who had taken refuge there after attacking a nearby police station, seeking to steal arms.
It was not clear if Thaksin would visit the Krue Se mosque in the town of Pattani where hundreds of Muslims have flocked in the past week to see the scene of the bloodiest fighting and hand out leaflets condemning the "barbaric" Bangkok government.
JOBS, JOBS
Thaksin, facing his biggest challenge since taking office more than three years ago, has promised millions of dollars in development aid to improve the plight of those in the south, which has lagged behind the wealthier north.
It's a theme he stressed during his speech at Baan Susoe.
"Anyone want a job? Raise your hands," Thaksin told the crowd. "We'll give you training and then you get a job".
But despite the government's peace-loving assertions and pledges of money to repair the damage, feelings of resentment and alienation in Buddhist Thailand's deep south will persist, analysts said.
"For those whose kin were killed in last week's violence, the visit can do little in changing their attitude toward the authorities," said Narong Phetprasert, a Muslim affairs lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
The unrest has fuelled fears of a resurgent separatist movement in the south, where rebels fought a low-key, anti-Bangkok rebellion in the 1970s and 1980s, and where most of the population are Muslim ethnic Malays. Thaksin has said the attackers were drug-crazed gangsters manipulated by criminal networks. But he has not ruled out foreign involvement in last week's violence.
"We are monitoring foreigners who may have been in the three provinces. If any are found to have had improper behaviour, we will expel them or prosecute them," he told reporters in Bangkok before flying south. Some top officials say they suspect the attacks are the work of Islamic fundamentalists backed by foreign militant groups.
Authorities are trying to confirm the identities of several unclaimed bodies -- believed to be foreigners -- among those killed last week. Police are also hunting for a Muslim religious teacher, 33-year-old Yusof Rayalong, also known as Ustas Ishma-ae, suspected of recruiting and arming around 20 youths involved in the attacks.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.